Nepal earthquake: Babies born against the odds amid the devastation - video
Over the weekend the number of confirmed dead passed 7,000
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Your support makes all the difference.As the death toll for the number of people to die as a result of the earthquake to hit Nepal last Saturday passed 7,000, there were some tales of hope to emerge from the country over the weekend after stories of babies being born against the odds filtered out of field hospitals set up following the massive quake.
Over the weekend, two “happy” and “healthy” babies were born at a makeshift tent hospital set up by the Israeli military in Kathmandu.
On Friday, young mother Lata Chand who was heavily pregnant at the time of the earthquake gave birth to a baby girl.
Hariender Chanda, Lata’s husband, said that he was fearful that the event might have caused his wife to miscarry after he had heard many tales of women miscarrying following the earthquake that registered 7.9 on the Richter scale.
He told AP: “When the quake struck I was thinking 'will we survive?' because most of the pregnant women miscarried their babies. I was scared it would happen to us. Now we're safe, it's good.”
He added: “We got trapped inside our house after the quake as the house next door tilted towards our house. We couldn't escape. Fortunately, God saved us.“
The baby was delivered successfully on Friday afternoon, with both mother and child reportedly “doing well”
Within hours there was another new arrival on its way when Divyanshi Rajesh was brought into the world to the clapping and cheering of the makeshift hospital’s staff.
Speaking to local press after the birth, the delighted father of the newborn girl, Dr Rajesh K C, said that he “despite the very dangerous earthquake”, he and his wife were “extremely happy at getting a very healthy baby.”
The death toll for the earthquake currently stands at around 7,276, however authorities fear that this number could grow as rescue workers are only just reaching remote areas outside of Kathmandu.
Last week, hundreds of aid workers from around the world travelled to the impoverished mountainous country to help the stretched Nepalese emergency services with their rescue efforts.
In total, it is estimated 4,050 rescue workers from 34 different nations have flown to Nepal to help in rescue operations.
Additional Reporting agencies
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